1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a gasket for a fuel cell, and more particularly, to a gasket for a fuel cell capable of improving air tightness by increasing surface pressure of the gasket.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fuel cell generally includes a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) including a catalyst layer inducing a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen and separation plates disposed at both sides of the membrane electrode assembly and facilitating discharging of water while supplying the hydrogen and the oxygen into the membrane electrode assembly.
Both sides of the separation plate are typically provided with a plurality of manifolds so that the hydrogen, air, and coolant may flow once separation plates are stacked thereon. A gasket is provided along edges of the manifolds and the separation plates to seal the hydrogen, the air, and the coolant within the cell. As such, this gasket serves as a guide so that introduced hydrogen and air may move to a hydrogen catalyst layer and an air catalyst layer of the membrane electrode assembly, respectively, and maintains air tightness so that materials flowing along the respective manifolds do not move to adjacent manifolds.
In connection with this, a conventional art entitled “Separation Plate for Fuel Cell having Gasket for Maintaining Air Tightness and Method of Manufacturing the Same,” provides a separate plate for a fuel cell having a gasket for maintaining air tightness characterized in that separation plates for a fuel cell having gaskets for maintaining air tightness and the gaskets and injection-molded on both surfaces of the separation plates and are continuously connected to each other to thereby be integrated with each other while forming one closed curve or ring like structure, wherein a first gasket of a first separation plate of the separation plates and includes: a side line injection-molded integrally along four corners on surfaces of an inner side and an outer side of the first separation plate; a 1-1-th main line passing through a region between an inner side of a hydrogen manifold and a hydrogen passing hole and then extended to a region adjacent to inner sides of a coolant manifold and an air manifold positioned on the same line as a line of the hydrogen manifold in a width direction on the surface of the outer side of the first separation plate; a 1-2-th main line extended, in the width direction, to a region between the hydrogen passing hole and a coolant channel and a region adjacent to the inner side of the air manifold positioned on the same line in the width direction on the surface of the inner side of the first separation plate; and a plurality of first coolant guide lines arranged in a length direction in a region between the coolant manifold and the coolant channel on the surface of the inner side of the first separation plate.
However, in spite of the related art as described above, a load is concentrated due to contact between guide lines when the separation plates are stacked. As such, the contact surface pressure between main lines becomes weak. As a result, materials flowing along the manifolds may mix with each. This is not ideal for optimum fuel cell performance.
The matters described as the related art have been provided only for assisting in the understanding for the background of the present invention and should not be considered as corresponding to the related art known to those skilled in the art.